For someone who has followed his heart which at times has prompted critics to term it a gamble, Pankaj Advani has steadfastly believed in his instincts.

Far from being arrogant, it’s the confidence in his ability and the sure-fire belief in his methods that has fetched the Bengalurean rewards for his stirring deeds.

When the 27-year-old decided to pull out of International Championship on the professional snooker tour owing to a clash of dates with the unified World Billiards championship, critics were quick to pan him for what they felt was a ‘rash’ decision, but the cue sport pro proved that he is one who walks the talk.

On Sunday night, the confidence worked for the Bengaluru boy as he reclaimed the World billiards crown (time format) from the very man who had dethroned him in Pune two years ago.

Against a fiery opponent like Mike Russell, Advani was a picture of composure as he built a healthy lead over the five-hour final before winning 1895-1216.

“I have waited three years for this moment. And clinching it against a player of Mike’s status is huge. I still feel my billiards wasn’t up to the mark, considering I’ve played snooker the last few months but my determination to prove to myself that I can play both sports took me the distance,” said Advani to this newspaper.

With the title being his eighth world crown, Advani added, “It is an unreal feeling! I can’t fathom how amazing my journey has been. I was also relieved. I really wanted to change that tally from 7 to 8 and finally achieved that in a dream final. The sacrifice and gamble did pay off. That’s the beauty of listening to your heart when in doubt.”

Consistency was the key word for the champion and throwing light on that aspect of his game, Advani said, “I knew I needed to be consistent from the word go, so I was on a mission as guided by my brother Shree, who is a noted sport psychologist. He knows the game inside out and has a natural sports brain which really came in handy. After I scored breaks of 147 and 298, Russell brought the scores to parity with a 397. I knew I had to keep the pressure and kept scoring centuries. I think I got six tons and two double tons. Russell in fact called me a “ton machine” after the match!”

But victory was not easy, for apart from facing tough opponents, playing in both the time and point formats was grueling. “It was a challenge. Two formats should’ve been played out separately but in hindsight I guess, personally it had a purpose. And it panned out almost perfectly,” said the eternal optimist.

Advani, who will hit the rugged pro-snooker highway soon, had little time to celebrate the win. “I went for dinner with the Indian contingent and a few other players. As I had to leave Leeds by 4 am, I didn’t manage to catch even a wink of sleep.” For a man who loves his sleep, it was a big task, but for the champion in him, it was a celebration of a fitting eighth wonder!

EIGHT WONDERS 2003 IBSF World Snooker 2005 IBSF World Billiards (Time format) 2005 IBSF World Billiards (Point format) 2007 IBSF World Billiards (Time) 2008 IBSF World Billiards (Time ) 2008 IBSF World Billiards (Point ) 2009 WPBSA World Billiards 2012 World Billiards (Time)